Vehicles such as garbage and salt trucks, construction equipment, military tanks, and the like present various cleaning issues due to their intricate and odd shapes and large sizes. As a result, proper cleaning of such vehicles can be costly in terms of time, labor and water use.
Conventional wash systems may include cleaning apparatuses having brushes that physically contact the surface of a vehicle to remove dirt and debris therefrom. However, certain materials used in vehicles are susceptible to damage from the brush bristles or from the action of the brush bristles carrying dirt and other debris across the vehicle surface. More often, brushes may be impractical due to the unique shapes of certain vehicles. One solution to the impracticality of brush-based washing is to use high-pressure water spray nozzles to remove dirt, as opposed to using brushes. A typical brushless system has water spray nozzles or jets arrayed on a frame that spray the vehicle as the vehicle passes through the system However, water spray nozzles mounted in a fixed position in a wash apparatus may lose effectiveness in cleaning a vehicle because the distance between the fixed water spray nozzle and a vehicle surface varies with the size and shape of each different vehicle. Moreover, since these systems are non-vehicle specific, the systems use a great deal of water and may not reach all portions necessary to clean the vehicle and prevent corrosion.
One type of brushless system uses a number of nozzles that are all simultaneously activated, which requires multiple high-pressure pumps, adding significant cost to the system, to give adequate pressure to the nozzles for proper cleaning of the vehicle. Another type of system uses a gantry-type washing apparatus that is adapted to move linearly along the length of a vehicle. In this system, the entire line of nozzles moves together. With this system, the vehicle is stopped during cleaning, thus increasing the time necessary to clean the vehicle. Additionally, the nozzle arrangement does not allow for specific cleaning of various portions of the vehicle. The moving gantry and nozzles are a mechanical complication that requires additional parts and service, above that of a fixed nozzle system.
Since automated systems inadequately clean such vehicles, the only known adequate method involves manual cleaning. Manual cleaning, however, is time consuming and highly labor intensive.
In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a wash system to effectively wash large vehicles, while overcoming the disadvantages and drawbacks associated with the prior art.